3M is on schedule to phase out PFAS from its manufacturing process by the end of 2025, executives said in a Q4 earnings call last week.
Forever chemicals production volumes are down 20%, 3M Chairman and CEO Mike Roman told analysts on Jan. 23. The company does not plan to sell its equipment or business, transfer any assets or license its intellectual property, Roman added.
“We’re working to help customers transition,” Roman said. “So we are going to exit and complete by the end of 2025. Everybody’s focused on that goal.”
3M has reformulated or discontinued nearly 25,000 products manufactured with or containing forever chemicals as of Jan. 19. The company first announced it planned to phase out the use of the forever chemicals in December 2022. It based its decision partly on a regulatory push to reduce and eliminate PFAS from the environment, as well as “changing stakeholder expectations.”
Manufactured PFAS accounts for 4% of 3M’s annual revenue, and approximately $1.3 billion of its yearly net sales, according to the chemical company’s website. 3M utilizes harmful toxic substances in consumer goods such as electronics, non-stick cookware and cosmetics, medical devices and solar panels. The company adjusted its sales to exclude manufactured PFAS products, according to its Jan. 23 press release.
Still, the company will evaluate to see if there are some circumstances in which PFAS is used — such as lithium-ion batteries and printed circuit boards — that may continue beyond 2025, the company said on its website.
In addition to phasing out PFAS, 3M said it’s also working on resolving its earplug and PFAS public water lawsuits. The latter is on track for final approval of its $10.3 billion settlement, with the hearing scheduled for Feb. 2.
The chemical giant is also working on finalizing its $6 billion settlement to resolve allegations that its subsidiary Aearo Technologies sold defective earplugs to the military. Last month, 3M paid $250 million to the qualified settlement fund that will dismiss up to 30,000 claims. The court also dismissed over 22,000 claims for failure to comply with court orders.
The company plans to make another payment of $253.1 million by Jan. 31 toward the Aearo settlement fund.